Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; EJ

Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (EJ)

Posted on December 21, 2018

“Because the Earth needs a good lawyer.” Earthjustice is the nation’s premier environmental law organization, built on the belief that everyone has the right to a healthy environment. Since its founding in 1971, Earthjustice has tirelessly defended that right by using the power of the law to protect people’s health, preserve wildlife and wild places, advance clean energy, and combat climate change.

In 1965, the attorneys who founded Earthjustice (then known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) created a groundbreaking foundation for environmental law by taking on Walt Disney in a landmark case to defend California’s stunning Mineral King Valley from destructive development. Since then, Earthjustice has filed thousands of lawsuits on behalf of the environment and all the life that depends on it.

Earthjustice partners with hundreds of organizations and thousands of passionate supporters to take on the most pressing environmental challenges of the day, such as climate change, fracking, air pollution and oil drilling in the Arctic. The organization focuses on bringing cases with the greatest possible impact – in order to set precedents for generations to come, with an increasing eye on partnering with organizations that can help bring cases that improve the connection between human life and the environment.

Over time, as the organization’s work has continued to grow and expand, Earthjustice has created domestic and international programs to address human rights, trade and environmental issues; a communications team to build a groundswell of public support for the issues and cases it takes on; and a policy and legislative team to craft laws that support and extend the organization’s gains and to prevent legislative efforts that undermine environmental progress.

Now, Earthjustice seeks its next Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to drive strategy and implementation of the organization’s equity and inclusion work both inside and outside the organization. To date, the DEI team has engaged a wide range of staff in work groups, focusing on recruitment, partnerships and internalculture and engagement. Earthjustice has a staff of more than 320, including more than 150 attorneys, across 14 offices;

a budget of $85 million; and an active policy and communications agenda. On a current path of rapid growth, Earthjustice stands poised to expand and deepen its mission well into the future. Leading in the areas of diversity and inclusion is a key aspect of Earthjustice’s strategy for impact, both inside the organization and externally in its work, as diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to mitigating environmental harm.

Earthjustice will continue to be a leader in recognizing the role of everyone in environmental health and activism.

Learn more about Earthjustice thjustice.org!

Reporting to the President, and serving as an integral member of the senior leadership team, the Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will be a thoughtful and influential communicator who can contribute creative, dynamic, and forward-thinking strategy and execution to lead Earthjustice’s efforts in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, as well as deepening Earthjustice’s work with diverse communities, who are disproportionately affected by environmental challenges.

The Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will work closely with the President on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives inside and outside the organization, and will serve as a key advisor on managing an organization and movement that is evolving in progressive ways around these issues. Primary…